ATHENS, July 1 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Paragon Shipping Inc. , a global shipping transportation company specializing in drybulk cargoes, announced today that it has entered into new two year time charter contracts for the Calm Seas and the Coral Seas. Both vessels have been forward fixed on period time charters for 23 to 26 months at a gross daily rate of $15,775 per vessel with Intermare Transport GMBH.
Commenting on these developments Michael Bodouroglou, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Paragon Shipping, stated, "We are pleased to announce the new chartering agreements for the Calm Seas and Coral Seas, two panamax bulkcarriers, on terms that we believe are competitive in the current environment and provide us with significant cash flow visibility going forward. These contracts are scheduled to commence between December 2009 and April 2010, allowing us to forward fix our revenue stream. Furthermore, the addition of Intermare Transport GMBH, an established international charterer, will further diversify our list of prominent charterers."
Mr. Bodouroglou concluded, "These new charter arrangements will increase our fixed revenue days in 2010 and 2011 from 72% and 49% to 84% and 66%, respectively, providing us with significant stability in a potentially uncertain time in our markets. Furthermore, we shall increase our gross contracted fleet revenue from our existing charters by approximately $25 million to $325 million."
Vessel Vessel Year Charterer Gross Re-Delivery from Name Type Built Name Charter Charterer (2) Rate (1) Earliest Latest Blue Seas Handymax 1995 Ultrabulk 9,000 Jul. 2009 Oct. 2009 Clean Seas Handymax 1995 Cosco Bulk 9,000 Jan. 2011 Mar. 2011 (3) Crystal Seas Handymax 1995 Cosco Bulk 23,000 Aug. 2011 Nov. 2011 (4) Deep Seas Panamax 1999 Morgan 34,250 Sept. 2009 Dec. 2009 (5) Stanley Calm Seas Panamax 1999 Korea Line 37,000 Jan. 2010 Apr. 2010 (6) Corp. Kind Seas Panamax 1999 Deiulemar 45,500 Nov. 2011 Feb. 2012 Shipping Sapphire Supramax 2005 Korea Line 26,750 May 2010 Jul. 2010 Seas (7) Corp. Pearl Seas Panamax 2006 Korea Line 37,300 Aug. 2011 Oct. 2011 (8) Corp. Diamond Seas Panamax 2001 Vespucci 27,500 May 2010 July 2010 Marine Coral Seas Panamax 2006 Bunge 54,000 Dec. 2009 Mar. 2010 (9) Golden Seas Panamax 2006 Deiulemar 43,500 Sep. 2011 Nov. 2011 (10) Shipping Friendly Supramax 2008 Deiulemar 33,750 Apr. 2014 Aug. 2014 Seas Compagnia
(1) Daily charter hire rates in this table do not reflect commissions payable by the Company to third party chartering brokers and Allseas Marine, S.A. ranging from 1.25% to 6.25%, including the 1.25% to Allseas.
(2) The date range provided represents the earliest and latest date on which the charterer may redeliver the vessel to us upon termination of the charter.
(3) On April 15, 2009, we entered into an agreement with Cosco Bulk Carrier Co. Ltd. to extend the employment of the Clean Seas for a period of 12 to 14 months commencing on January 4, 2010 at a gross daily charter rate of $17,250 and a commission of 6.25%. The vessel is currently employed on a time charter that commenced on January 25, 2009 and ends on January 4, 2010.
(4) On April 15, 2009, we agreed with Cosco Bulk Carrier Co. Ltd. to reduce the gross daily charter rate for Crystal Seas to $23,000 per day for the period commencing May 1, 2009 and ending December 31, 2009. As of January 1, 2010, the daily charter rate will return to its original level of $33,000 per day and will be payable until the expiration of the charter period.
(5) On June 2, 2009, we agreed with Morgan Stanley to enter into a new time charter agreement regarding the next employment of Deep Seas at a net daily charter rate of $15,000 for a period of 24 to 28 months, and a commission of 1.25%. The time charter will commence on September 1, 2009 and will expire between September 1, 2011 and December 31, 2011.
(6) On June 29, 2009 we agreed with Intermare Transport GMBH to enter into a new time charter agreement regarding the next employment of Calm Seas at a gross daily rate of $15,775 for a period of 23 to 26 months, and a commission of 6.25%. The time charter will commence between January 1, 2010 and April 30, 2010 and will expire between December 1, 2011 and July 15, 2012.
(7) The daily charter rate for Sapphire Seas decreases to $22,750 as of June 24, 2009.
(8) On June 17, 2009, we agreed with Korea Line Corporation to reduce the gross daily charter rate for Pearl Seas to $37,300 per day from June 23, 2009 until the expiration of the charter period. We also agreed to extend the current employment of Pearl Seas for an optional period (at our option) of 26 to 28 months commencing on August 11, 2011 at a gross daily charter rate of $32,500 and a commission of 6.25%. In case the Panamax spot market increases above $32,500 per day (based on the previous quarterly average of the BPI), then an additional amount above such level shall be shared 50/50 between us and the charterer. The time charter commenced on September 11, 2008 and assuming all extension options are exersiced, will expire between October 11, 2013 and December 11, 2013.
(9) On June 29, 2009 we agreed with Intermare Transport GMBH to enter into a new time charter agreement regarding the next employment of Coral Seas at a gross daily rate of $15,775 for a period of 23 to 26 months, and a commission of 6.25%. The time charter will commence between December 1, 2009 and March 15, 2010 and will expire between November 1, 2011 and May 30, 2012.
(10) The charter of the Golden Seas was originally entered into with Transfield Shipping Inc., which in turn sub-chartered the vessel to Deiulemar Shipping S.P.A. On March 25, 2009, Transfield Shipping Inc. assigned all of its rights under the sub-charter to us. The material terms of the sub-charter assigned to us are identical to the original charter with the exception of the daily charter rate, which is $43,500 (the original daily charter rate was $48,000).
About Paragon Shipping Inc.
Paragon Shipping Inc. is an Athens, Greece-based international shipping company specializing in the transportation of drybulk cargoes. The Company's current fleet consists of twelve vessels with a total carrying capacity of 765,137 dwt.
Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statement
Matters discussed in this press release may constitute forward-looking statements. The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 provides safe harbor protections for forward-looking statements in order to encourage companies to provide prospective information about their business. Forward-looking statements include statements concerning plans, objectives, goals, strategies, future events or performance, and underlying assumptions and other statements, which are other than statements of historical facts.
The Company desires to take advantage of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and is including this cautionary statement in connection with this safe harbor legislation. The words "believe," "anticipate," "intends," "estimate," "forecast," "project," "plan," "potential," "may," "should," "expect," "pending" and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements.
The forward-looking statements in this press release are based upon various assumptions, many of which are based, in turn, upon further assumptions, including without limitation, our management's examination of historical operating trends, data contained in our records and other data available from third parties. Although we believe that these assumptions were reasonable when made, because these assumptions are inherently subject to significant uncertainties and contingencies which are difficult or impossible to predict and are beyond our control, we cannot assure you that we will achieve or accomplish these expectations, beliefs or projections.
In addition to these important factors, other important factors that, in our view, could cause actual results to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements include the strength of world economies and currencies, general market conditions, including fluctuations in charter rates and vessel values, changes in demand for drybulk shipping capacity, changes in our operating expenses, including bunker prices, dry-docking and insurance costs, the market for our vessels, charter counterparty performance, availability of financing and refinancing, changes in governmental rules and regulations or actions taken by regulatory authorities, potential liability from pending or future litigation, general domestic and international political conditions, potential disruption of shipping routes due to accidents or political events, vessels breakdowns and instances of off-hires and other factors. Please see our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission for a more complete discussion of these and other risks and uncertainties.
Contacts: Christopher Thomas, Chief Financial Officer, Paragon Shipping Inc., 15 Karamanli Ave., GR 166 73, Voula, Greece. Tel: +30-210-8914-600. Eric Boyriven, Alexandra Tramont, FD, Tel: +1-212-850-5600.
Paragon Shipping Inc
CONTACT: Contacts: Christopher Thomas, Chief Financial Officer, Paragon
Shipping Inc., 15 Karamanli Ave., GR 166 73, Voula, Greece. Tel:
+30-210-8914-600. Eric Boyriven, Alexandra Tramont, FD, Tel: +1-212-850-5600
